Machine for pickling metal plates and blanks



April 22 1924.

E. W. BURGESS MACHINE FOR PICKLING METAL PLATES AND BLANKS Filed March 30 1922 2 SheetS -Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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Wat PM E. W. BURGESS MACHINE FOR PICKLING METAL PLATES AND BLANKS Filed March 50, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

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'TTORNEYJ Patented Apr. 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,491,195 PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD W. BURGESS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOB TO A. 0. SMITH COR- PORA'I'ION, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR PICKLING'METAL PLATES AND BLANKB.

To all whom it may congern;

Be it known that I, EDWARD WESLEY Btmonss, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Milwaukee, in the'count of 5 Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, ave

invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for Pickling Metal Plates and Blanks; and I do declare the following specification to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, such as will enable persons skilled in the art to. which the invention ertaiiis to make and use the same, reference being had. to the accompanying drawings for disclosure as to the construction of the apparatus.

The invention relates to a machine for pickling sheet metal plates or blanks, it being the function of the pickling operation to clear such plates orblanks from scale or other substances which may be injurious to the tools of the machines or presses which are used in shearing, punching, drawing, or otherwise treating the plates. or the blanks cut therefrom, in the subsequent manufacturing operations.

The purpose of the invention is the provision of mechanical apparatus for efiecting an operation heretofore generally performed by hand. By the use of such apparatus, we are enabled to avoid many of the disagreeable results incident to the personal contact of the workmen with the acid baths and the coated plates or blanks, as the latter are withdrawn from the baths.

The invention comprises a construction by means of which an endless conveyor carries the plates or blanks into and out of the several baths or vats used in the pickling process, and holds them submerged until all have been subjected to the desired treatment.

The invention is embodied in a structure in which the plurality of baths or vats containing the several chemical solutions are arranged in line or succession, and in connection with which an endless chain conveyor is employed .to carry the plates or blanks from one bath to another, until such lates have received the necessary treatment y immersion in all of the baths.

In my improved construction the endless conveyor travels about and is actuated by driven sprocket wheels at each end of the apparatus. The endless conveyor moves over a substantially horizontal track way at the upper portion of the ap aratus, but the lower track way over wh1c the conveyor moves is constructed with de ressions in certaln sections, whereby the en less conveyor is made to partake of an undulating movement while the plates or blanks are being treated. The depressions in the lower run of the track way are located immediately over the baths, while the high points between the depressions are positioned above the meeting or abutting ends of the contiguous baths. In this manner the metal plates or blanks supported by the conveyor will be lowered into the first bath and will be raised at the end of their movement through the first bath so as to clear that bath and be lowered into the next one, and so on.

The construction and arrangement is such that in the operation of the mechanism, the metal hooks supported by the endless conveyor and which carry the plates or blanks are the only parts of the apparatus, aside from the containing vats, which are subject to contact with the chemicals. These hooks are formed from a metal which will enable them to resist the action of the acids. The conveyor chains from which the hooks are suspended, are supported and guided in a line of travel which is clear of the vats or baths. By this construction and arrangement, the injur'iousefiects of the acids upon the apparatus is avoided. Y

The invention resides specifically in the peculiar formation of the said hooks or.

hangers whereby they are adapted to support the plates and blanks at their lower edges only and in such manner that the plates and blanks will be free to have a slight rocking movement on their lower supporting edges, so that the whole surfaces of the plates and blanks may be subjected to the action of the solutions in the pickling operation. The hooked end of the hanger is returned so as to lie in substantial par: allelism with the vertical shank thereof, and each of the parts is provided with an inwardly extending projection, which together form contacting points for the opposite sides of the plate or blank. The latter therefore is engaged by the hanger in such restricted areas of contact, and with such interrupted and slight pressures, that the entire surface of the plate or blank is efliciently treated in its passage through the baths or vats.

Tht features which constitute m present invention, will be defined in the c aims ap-- horizontal trackway 18, but the lower trackpended hereto. 7

' Referring to drawings accompanying this specification Figure 1 is a view in elevation showin in conventional manner the arrangement the elements andthe course of the mainsconvey or through the pickling apparatus ig. 2 is a view in vertica cross section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1, in a plane intersecting the path of travel of the conveyor,

' showing one of the carriers of the conveyor with a metal treatment.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in side elevation of the apparatus, broken out at the center to save space.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary viewof the conveyor, on the scale of Fig. 3, and showin a section of the undulating track way, where y the carriers for the plates are raised out of one bath preparatory to their immersion in plate in position thereon for another, one of the baths being shown in section. 1

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the hook of special form which is em loyed to 'support a metal plate or blank while being conveyed through the pickling apparatus.

The invention herein presented is disclosed in an application Serial No. 355,727, filed jointly by R. Stanle Smith and *me on February 2, 1920, an

discloses feedin mechanism for supplying plates to the en less conveyor *for the i k. 1 ling o eration, and deliverymechanismffor l 18 and 19. Guiding strips 24 are arranged removing the plates from the endless coli- Weyor at the conclusion of the pickling opieration, as well as other features of construction associated withrthe apparatus as a whole.

In the drawings which accom any the present specification, the frame 0? the a paratus is indicated by the numeral 10. The sprocket wheels 11 are mounted upon a shaft 12, journalled in bearings in the left hand or-feeding end of the frame, and sprocket wheels 13 are mounted upon a shaft 14, journalled in bearin s at the right hand or delivery end of the rame. An endless conveyor 15 is supported upon and actuated by the sprocket wheels 11 and 13. In the present construction, the driving shaft 16 is located at the right hand end of the apparatus, as indicated in Fig. 3, and by means of the train of gears there shown, acts to drive directly the sprocket Wheels 13. Mo-

11 are driven, the said sprocket wheels 11 and operatin in synohronism.

In ts forwar movement, as indicated by patented September 12, 1922, N 0. 1,428,716. The said patent also the arrow in 3, the upper run of the endless carrier passes over a substantially way-19 deviates from the horizontal for a be hereinafter described. I

The apparatus is' provided with a suitable number of baths orfvats 20, adapted for the reception of thevarious liquids and chemicals used in the picklin operation. The baths 20 are arranged en to end in aventllated housing 21, so constructed that the noxious gases will be discharged into the atmosphere. The course of the endless conveyor isthrough the several-housings, as indicated in The lower trackway is provided with de- Eressions ;;extending alongside of the several aths,}with intervening elevations at the points "where the ends of the baths approach each other. The purpose of this construc tion is to impart to the endless carrier while moving through the apparatus, an undulating motion which will lower the metal plates or blanks supported b the conveyor into the respective baths, an after immersion for a suitable time remove the plates or blanks therefrom. The arrangement whereby such undulatin movement of the conveyor is produced is indicated conventionally in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows some of the details of construction whereby such undulating motion is effected.

The endless conveyor 15 is formed as a chain, the links 22 of which are connected at their, meeting ends by the pintles of rollers 23 which operate over the trackways ing a length approximately equal to that of the links 22 of the conveyor. In Fig. 2, I have shown three of such transverse bars 26 distributed along the under side of the bridge piece 25. The said bars 26 may convenient y be formed as short sections of angle bars with one flange bolted in position against the under side of the bridge. The

said angle bars may be ouped as indicated in Fig. 2. Dependin angers 27 are pivoted at their-.upper en s in the space between the vertical flanges of the pair of bars constituting each group.

The form of the hangers 27 is indicated in detail inF'ig. 5. The function of the depending hangers 27 is to support the metal .plates supported thereby are plates or blanks 28 while the latter are being conveyed through the apparatus durin the pickling operation. The movement 0 the endless conveyor is at all times in a plane above that of .the top of the baths, and by means of the depending hanlgers 27 the owered into held therein a time sufii'cient to receive the necessary treatment, and then removed therefrom. The hangers 27 are the only parts of the apparatus which enter the solutions contains Y in the baths. These hangers are made of bronze or some other acid resisting metal. The hanger is revided with a hook at its lower end, w ich hook is adapted to receive and retain the metal plate or blank when the same has been supplied thereto, and in order that the area of contact between the. hook and the metal plate or blank may be reduced as much as possible, the said hangers are provided with contact points adapted to engiage opposite sides of the metal plate or lank in the manner shown in Fig. 5. This construction of the hanger leaves practically the whole the baths,

surface of the blank free for action by the chemicals thereon. In actual practice the blank will contact with the hanger 27 at but two points, one being by reason of the engagement of the lower end of the late with the hooked end of the hanger, an the other with-one of the opposed points, depending upon the angular position of the blank wit relation to the hanger.

The hangers'27 employed by me are of peculiar construction, and are especially designed for the. attainment of the most effieient results. Such hangers arein the form of pendants, returned at the lower end to form a hook 27 which lies substantially arallel with the main portion of the anger, and thus support the plate 28 in substantially vertical position. The free point of the hook is provided with a projection or barb 27*, which extends inwardly so as to contract the space between the hanger and the hook. An oppositely extending rojection 27 on the face of the hanger 2 is arranged for co-operation with the projection 27 in reducing to a minimum the area of engagement of the hanger with the plate 28. he plate is deposited upon the aligned hangers with its lower edge resting in the necks of the hooks, and engaging-the barbs and projections of the hangers, alternately, inasmuch as the s acing of the barbs and projections from t e vertical plane of the plate permits the plate under the pressure of the solution to have a slight rocking -movement on its lower edge, so that the small contacting points of the ban er will engage but one side of the plate at t e same time. A further advantage, which follows from the vertical arrangement of the plates in the hangers, resides in the agitation of the solutions caused by the sidewise moveme'ntlof the lates through the baths, so that such solutions arenot permitted to precipitate, as is the case when the plates are dipped while suspended vertically, or are passed edgewise through the baths while supported for horizontal movement, due to lack of agitation of the solutions when the I plates are so moved.

The blanks are supplied in succession to the hangers at the left hand end of the apparatus ersin the several baths, the pickled plates are elivered at the right hand and of the apparatus. The length of the baths and the time required for the movements of the metal plates therethrough in order to receive suitable .treatment are factors which will determine the rate of speed at which the endless conveyor is to be operated. In the mechanism disclosed in the patent herein before referred to, the metal plates or blanks are automatically supplied to the hangers, andafter treatment automatically delivered therefrom. In some instances it is desirable to em loy dripping plates 29, to bridge the space etween the ad acent ends of the tanks, so that as the plates are being conveyed from one tank to another, the chemicals dripping from such plates will flow back into the bath from which the plates have just been lifted.

When the time arrives for shutting down the operation of the apparatus, the movement of the plates then in transit through the pickling baths must continue until all of such plates have been delivered from thebaths. This is necessary in order that injury to the plates by reason of too ion a submersion in the acids may be avoi ed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a machine for pickling metal plates, a pickling vat, a travelin conveyor su ported and operated out of the plane of the vat and provided with a plurality of aligned pendant hangers, gaging and supporting the plate in vertical position by its lower edge in the movement of the plate through the vat.

2. In a machine or pickling metal plates, a pickling vat, a traveling conveyor supported and operated out of the plane of the vat and provided with a plurality of aligned pendant hangers, each having a ook for engaging and supporting the plate in vertical position by its lower edge in the movement of the plate through the vat, and a contacting point adjacent the side of the plate to reduce to a minimum the area of engagement asfindicated in Fig.3. After traveach having a hook for envat and rovided with a pluralit of aligned endant angers, each having-a ook forengaging and supporting the plate in vertlcal position by its lower edge in the movement of the plate throu h the vat, and contacting points adjacent t e opposite sides of the plate to reduce to a minimum the area of enga ment of the plate with the hangers.

4:. n a machine for pickling metal plates, a pickling vat, a traveling conveyor supported and operated out of the plane of the vat and provided with a plurality of aligned pendanthangers, each having a hook for engaging and supporting the plate in vertical position by its lower edge in the movement of the plate through the vat, and provided with projecting points on the hangers for engaging alternately the sides of the plate as the latter is rocked and prevent engagement of the plate with the hangers except through such points and hook, whereby the'area of engagement of the hangers with the plate during the pickling operation is reduced to a minimum.

5. In a machine for ickling metal plates,

' a pickling vat, a, traveling conveyor supported and operated out of the plane of the vat and provided with a plurality of aligned pendant hangers, each having a hook for engaging and supporting the plate in vertical position b its lower edge in the movement of the p ate through the vat, and provided with oppositely spaced contacting pendant hangers, each having a 00k for engaging the lower edge of the plate and supporting it in vertical position, the form of the hook permitting the plate to rock on its lower edge to expose the entire side surfaces of the plate to the action of the solution during the pickling operation.

In testimony whereof, I,have signed my name at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 27th day of March, 1922.

DWARD W. BURGESS.

Witnesses:

W. F. WOOLARD, W. E. Raves. 

